2007-2008 Wildcat Cash
Distribution Guidelines
Behavior/Achievement / # Wildcat Cash per incidentConsistent appropriate classroom behavior (following Code of Conduct/classroom expectations) w/out reminder / 1
Extraordinary Random Acts of Kindness & Friendship / 1-3 (depending on extraordinary nature of circumstances)
Consistent appropriate non-classroom behavior (hallway, cafeteria, playground, etc.) w/out reminder / 1
Consistent, significant display of effort/self-motivation / 2 or more (depending on significance of effort)
Meeting a set & stated goal (test, attendance, behavior, etc.) / 1 – daily goal
2 – weekly goal
Consistent display of sportsmanship, teamwork, cooperation / 1-2
Display of Self Discipline (avoiding a fight, not engaging in inappropriate actions when others around are, etc.) / 1-5 (depending on severity of situation in which discipline was displayed)
Display of positive attitude in a negative situation / 1
Appropriate problem-solving/conflict resolution / 1-5 (depending on severity of situation in which skill was displayed)
Significant improvement in a targeted area (behavior, math, etc.) / 1-5 (depending on level of improvement displayed)
Parent participation in events/conferences/meetings
Conferences
Special events/performances
Collaborations
Other school functions (volunteer, PTO, etc.) / 2 per event
Completion of specified tasks (signed paper, returned folder, etc) / 1
Earning PRIDE Coupons (grades 3-5) / 2 (1 ea. for morning & afternoon coupon)
Staying on the “Green Light”, keeping green card, or getting check marks for meeting expectations (PK-2) / 2 (1 in am & 1 in pm for K-2)
1 for Pre K
Revised 2007-2008
PBIS Incentive Events
Following much discussion and a great deal of feedback from staff and parents, changes were made to the incentive schedule and admission process. See table below for changes.
Month / Event & Date / Cost to Pre-K / Cost to K-5September / Pep Rally; 10/1/07 / 0 / 0
October / Ice Cream Sundae Bar; 10/31/07 / 12 Wildcat Cash / 25 Wildcat Cash
November / Pie Party; 11/30/07 / PBIS Tag OR
25 WC Cash + no office or bus referrals / PBIS Tag OR
50 WC Cash + no office or bus referrals
December / Holiday Art Activities; 12/19/07 / 25 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals / 50 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals
Cookie Craze; 12/21/07 / PBIS Tag / PBIS Tag
January / Pizza Party; 1/31/07 / 25 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals / 50 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals
Visit by WHS Basketball team; TBA / PBIS Tag / PBIS Tag
February / Sweets for the sweet; 2/14/08 / WC Cash / WC Cash
Movie & Popcorn; TBA / PBIS Tag / PBIS Tag
March / Ice Cream Sundae Bar; TBA / 25 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals / 50 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals
Spring Fling (karaoke; dancing; activities & refreshments); TBA / PBIS Tag / PBIS Tag
April / Brownie Blast; TBA / 50 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals / 100 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals
Bowling; TBA / PBIS Tag / PBIS Tag
May / Picnic on the Playground; TBA / 35 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals / 75 WC Cash + no off./bus referrals
Students vs. Faculty Game; TBA / PBIS Tag / PBIS Tag
June / JollyRogersAmusement Park; TBA / ALL PBIS TAGS FOR YEAR + 50 WC Cash + $10
OR
At least 80% of PBIS Tags + 125 Wildcat Cash + $10 / ALL PBIS TAGS FOR YEAR + 100 WC Cash + $10
OR
At least 80% of PBIS Tags + 250 Wildcat Cash + $10
Regular monthly incentives will include:
Character Tags + Incentive Activity – tags distributed to those students who meet 80%or better of behavior expectations & have no office or bus referrals for the month; tag is admission into the event.
Wildcat Cash Incentive Activities open to all students w/ no office/bus referrals or chronic behavior issues for the month who earned enough WC Cash to get in.
* * Fundraising will have to be done for Bowling & Jolly Rogers and as needed to supplement; PBIS funds may be used for other events
A regular Wildcat Cash Store will also take place at the beginning of each month, after the prior month’s incentives take place. At the store, students may use their cash to purchase items for varying costs:
Small gamesElectronicsToys Novelties
BooksEducational softwareTreatsPencils
And much more!
Other Options for Spending Wildcat Cash
Option / CostRent supplies from teacher* (text book, pencil, etc.) / 1 Wildcat Cash each item per day
Homework pass (one per student per 2 week period; must be bought before assignment is due) / 5 Wildcat Cash
Pass for lunch with adult** (“bought” directly from adult of choice) / 5 Wildcat Cash
Other ideas/suggestions?
* This should be donecarefully so as not to be seen as a punishment, but rather to promote personal responsibility and being prepared for class. Having a jar or basket next to the pencil can or on your desk where students may easily drop their “dollar” is one way of collecting on this. If a student needs a pencil and has no cash, this is where classroom camaraderie and teamwork come into play.
** Those students participating in the mentoring program who eat with their staff mentor or who have lunch with Mrs. Johnson as a part of their behavior plans would be exempt from this payment unless they choose to eat lunch with someone other than their mentor or Mrs. Johnson. These lunch passes will be made up for all staff members and handed out. Students will be encouraged to ask to purchase a pass from anyone, so unless your schedule really conflicts with a particular request, please try to accommodate (within reason) the requests you receive. Students should ask the “afternoon before” or the “morning of” to purchase a pass from you – not while they are on their way to lunch (again, this promotes responsibility and planning ahead).
PrincessAnneElementary School
PBIS News & Updates
PBIS Website Unveiled!
The PBIS Team is pleased to announce the unveiling of the Princess Anne Elementary PBIS website on the PAES Homepage. The site contains information about the incentives and rewards used as part of PAES’ plan to promote positive behaviors, upcoming PBIS events, Frequently Asked Questions, PBIS data and more. The team also plans to add a photo gallery and guestbook page to the site in the coming weeks as well.
Families and community members are encouraged to visit the site often for updates to the upcoming events, data, and other pages. Feedback from site visitors is also welcomed. To visit the site, log on to the PAES Homepage at and click on the PBIS link at the bottom of the page. Questions, comments, etc. about the site or PBIS in general can be emailed to Mrs. Massey at or sent in to school to the attention of the PBIS Team.
Much of the information contained on the website is also being added to the PBIS bulletin board located in the hallway just to the left of the main office. We hope you’ll stop by one of these locations to check out the latest in PBIS updates!
Upcoming PBIS Incentives
Many thanks for the MANY donations of cookies for December’s Cookie Craze incentive!! The students enjoyed all the different varieties of their old favorites and new flavors! THANK YOU!
Wildcat Cash Store
ManyThanks for the donations to the Wildcat Cash Store that have been sent in! The store has been a HUGE HIT with the students; they enjoy having the opportunity to come down, browse, and pick out (or save up for) their own rewards. Helpers are still needed to run the store (2 or more people on a shift is ideal for smooth operation).
We are still accepting donations of new or gently used items for the WC Store such as:
small, unbroken toys (from kids’ meals, dollar store multi-packs, animal collections, toy cell phones, bouncy balls, action figures, die cast metal vehicles, hackey sacks, etc.),
small stuffed & beanie toys& dolls (washed & dried, please),
coloring books, color-it-yourself fuzzy posters/velvet art, small craft projects, etc.
children’s picture, early reader, chapter, and young reader books
handheld electronics (recreational and/or educational),
pc games,
Slinkies (all sizes welcome)
Playdough (small & party favor sizes only please)
movies& short videos VHS & DVD (age appropriate, please),
video, board, & travel games (appropriately rated, please),
boxed puzzles (if used, please be sure all pieces are enclosed)
novelty stationery items (fuzzy pens, mechanical pencils, stickers, pencil grippers, novelty erasers, novelty notepads, journals, marker/color pencil sets, etc.),
novelty jewelry & accessories (purses, wallets (boys & girls), keychains, plastic dress-up jewelry (up to age 6), Girl Connection or other young girls’ (age 7 & up) jewelry, silicone “message” bracelets, jelly bracelets, bangles, chains & beads (for boys too), rings, novelty shoelaces, new hair accessories for girls, etc.)
From the PAES PBIS Website:
Frequently Asked Questions About PBIS
"If a child doesn’t know how to read,
we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to swim,
we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to multiply,
we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to drive,
we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave,
we …
punish?"
- Unknown
There are sure to be many questions about what PBIS is, why it is such a focus at Princess Anne Elementary, and how it will help our children succeed academically. The quotation above answers one such question - Why PBIS? Simply put, from the time they are born, we teach our children everything, but for some reason, when they hit a certain point, we expect them to know how to behave. Then when they don't, we exact a punishment. PBIS is about teaching our children what behaviors are acceptable, praising and rewarding them when they "get it", and helping them learn from their mistakes when they don't.
To answer some of the other most common questions, we've created the rest of this page. Click on a question below to go directly to the answer, or take your time and browse through all of them. If you have other questions about PBIS, please don't hesitate to let Mrs. Massey and the PBIS team know about them so that we can be sure you get answers to the questions you have.
What is PBIS?
PBIS Maryland ( defines PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) as "a
process for creating safer and more effective schools. PBIS is a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of
schools to educate all children by developing research-based, school wide, and classroom discipline systems. The
process focuses on improving a school’s ability to teach and support positive behavior for all students. Rather than a
prescribed program, PBIS provides systems for schools to design, implement, and evaluate effective school-wide,
classroom, non-classroom, and student-specific discipline plans. PBIS includes school-wide procedures and
processes intended for:
/ Non-classroom settings within the school environment
/ Individual classrooms and teachers, and
/ Individual student supports for the estimated 3-7% of students who present the most challenging behaviors."
PAES simplifies this definition by saying that PBIS is:
/ Not a specific curriculum or practice;/ A school-wide approach to the prevention of unwanted behaviors;
/ Not limited to a specific group of students;
/ Designed to involve ALL students.
How are Families involved in PBIS?
PBIS.org says this about family involvement and PBIS: "The link between families and positive behavioral
interventions and supports is an important one. When families are meaningfully involved in educational activities their
children do better in schools. Families play an important part in their child's education and social development. The
presence of parents in schools not only provides additional academic supports but also creates community and
cultural connections. In many schools, family participation in the school-wide positive behavior support process is
growing. Family members are part of state, district, and school planning teams and participate in school-wide
activities in a variety of ways. Family members participate in the assessment and problem solving process to
create individualized positive behavior support plans for their children."
PAES actively seeks out parent/family input and involvement on the PBIS team and uses parent/family volunteers for
many of the incentives. A periodic newsletter with updates from PBIS go home to help keep families informed of the
developments, and parents/families are involved in problem-solving strategies to help create individualized plans that
encourage and support positive behavior for their children at school and at home.
For more on family involvement in PBIS, visit national PBIS website at
What does PBIS look like at PAES?
PrincessAnneElementary School has identified four key behavior qualities that are desired for students to demonstrate - being respectful, responsible, safe, and prepared. These characteristics are quoted in the school's Code of Conduct Pledge, which students recite every morning.
Rather than simply "expecting" students to know what these qualities look like in various settings, the behaviors within these traits are actively taught and modeled by staff members, recognized, and rewarded. In addition, throughout the school, posters are displayed that identify specific behaviors within each of these traits in every school setting (hallway expectations, cafeteria, playground, gym, etc.).
While these expectations apply to all students and are consistently met by about 80% of the student body, there are measures in place to address and prevent the unwanted behaviors displayed by the other 20% of students. These systems use tools such as behavioral assessments, targeted small group and individual interventions, behavior checklists, peer mediation, staff mentors, close monitoring and re-assessment.
In these moderate-to-intensive situations, a team of staff members, and often accompanied by the child and the parents, devise a plan with short and long term goals tailored to the individual student to help that child learn and display the behavior expectations.
Because PBIS is a system-wide approach to behavior management, the universal language of the Code of Conduct and behavior expectations is infused into every part of the school atmosphere - from classroom to cafeteria, playground to computer lab. The principles are taught in bi-weekly Character Education lessons, in which every character trait and behavior discussed is linked back to being respectful of either self, others, property, or surroundings.
Qualities like sportsmanship, respect for self (through health & nutrition lessons), equipment, teammates and opponents, attention to safety, and responsibility to teammates are taught in Physical Education, and things like appreciation for and acceptance of others' individual expressions and respect for materials are taught in Art and Music. Stories studied in literature and history in the classrooms encourage learning about new cultures, tolerance & diversity, and the cessation of prejudicial behaviors, while lessons in Science help students learn about our responsibility to our earth - in respecting its beauty and wonder while taking care to preserve it for future generations.
And all the while, student behavior is pre-corrected - caught before it becomes a problem. Teachers catch those "teachable moments" in their classrooms and use them to help students learn about appropriate behavior, positive actions, steps to problem solving, being safe, responsibility to one's self and classmates, and how preparedness leads tosuccess.
What type of incentive/reward system is used?
PrincessAnneElementary School uses two types of incentives in its PBIS system. The purpose of the incentives is to promote the consistent display of positive behaviors and provide recognition for meeting behavior expectations. While the specifics of the expectations and distribution of incentives may vary slightly from teacher to teacher and grade to grade, the overall expectations and how the incentives are handed out remain the same.
PBIS Tags:
The distribution of PBIS tags is based on a student's having met the Code of Conduct standards (respectful, responsible, safe & prepared) at least 80% of the month with no office or bus referrals. Most teachers have some sort of daily classroom monitoring system (checks & 'x'es; clips & red, yellow, green lights, PRIDE coupons) and offer weekly incentives (Fun Friday activities) to help students "keep their eyes on the prize" at the end of the month.
The tags are given out at the end of the month, and each is embossed with a different character trait that the school encourages students to display. With these tags comes admission into a special incentive event (see the incentives page for more details) held each month.
Wildcat Cash:
While the PBIS Tags and the incentives that accompany them are a long-term incentive tool, PAES also utilizes a more immediate reward system. The Wildcat Cash is used to recognize students right away who demonstrate extraordinary acts of kindness and good character as well as those who display consistent effort over time to follow the Code of Conduct, make significant self improvements, meet stated goals/expectations, etc. Now, not only are the students rewarded with the Wildcat Cash itself, but also with what they can do with the cash. Students have options to use their cash immediately or save it for something they are looking forward to (thus also helping them learn important life skills). They have opportunities to spend their WC on daily things like lunch passes with an adult in the school as well as longer-term goals like admission into a special monthly activity and to purchase items at the monthly Wildcat Cash Store.